Apparatus, including a manually positioned upper die for shaping armature coils



1950 B. w. MARKEY 2,493,679

APPARATUS, INCLUDING A MANUALILY POSITIONED UPPER DIE FOR SHAPING ARMATURE COILS Filed Feb. 15, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q INVENTOR Bruce WMa/kqq Jan. 3, 1950 B. w. MARKEY' 2,493,679

APPARATUS, INCLUDING A MANUALLY POSITIONED UPPER DIE FOR SHAPING ARMATURE COILS Filed Feb. 15, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v /,v/ a 10 2&\\\'m\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 5 Bruce WMar/(ey Patented Jan. 3, 1950 UNJTED PATENT ZO FFSI'CE SITIONED UPPER DIE FOR ARMATURE 'COILS SHAPING Bruce W. Markey, 'Aliquippa, Pa, assignor to J ones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 15, 1945, Serial No. 578,095

. '6 Claims.

1 This invention relates to the processing of armature coils and, in particular, "to the shaping of the straight sides of the coil prior to the application thereto of the usual insulating tape.

The :practice "followed "heretofore in making armature coils has been to place 'the straight "c'o'il s'ides between shaping members, after the coils have been *wound and pulled out, and then "to hammer-on theu'pper shaping member. This procedure does not insure the proper sizing and "shaping of the-coil *s'l'desandin addition, is relatively slow because of the amount of manual labor involved. I have invented a novel apparatus and'met'hod fo'r shaping armature coil sides capable of speedily and accurately imparting "thereto precisely thedesiredshape whereby, atter Wrapping withinsulating tape, they will fit the armature slots very closely. 'ln a preferred'embodimen't and practice =of the invention, 1 provide a press including a lower die which is relatively fixed, and a movame upper die, as well as power means for forcing the upper die toward the lower die. I also heat the lower die. The coil sides are heated by-ico'n'tacttherewith and the shaping operation is thereby facilitated.

Further details and advantages of the inven- 'tion will become apparent durin the following complete description which refers to the accompanying drawings -illus't'ratin'g the preferred embodiment.

lnthe drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus; Figured is anend elevation thereof Figure 3 is apar'tial section to enlarged scale taken along-the plane-oi lingiII-III of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is 'a partial section to enlarged scale taken alongthe plane of line of Figure '2;

Figure 5 is a plan viewoi one "form of armature-coil; and

Figure 6 is aside elevation thereof.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the apparatus which I have devised for carrying out "the inventioncomprises "a "table In hav'in'g a pair of vertical-slide pressu'nits H and 1 2 mounted "th reon. These units are identical F and, "accordingly, only-one'will b'elfully described. Each'pr'ess unit -12 comprises an 'overhahging post "I3 secured to the table 'bysc'r'ews M and supporting power-cylinder l5 and a guifde bracket l e. The

-cylinde'r '15 has flanges ll and issecured to the posts by bolts 8. The guide bracket i5 is s ecnred to the posts by "screws l-E! and hasa guide -"c"h 1 hnel 25} extending vertically throughtheiront iace thereof ipi'cvidedwith liners 2i. ii-slide firecipl'ocable through the guide acharmel is held. I

in place by gibs 23 secured to the bracket by screws '24. A piston 25 in the cylinder IB :is constantly urged upwardly by a compression sprin 26 and has it'spiston rodfl'l secured to the upper end of the s'lide "22. The portion of the bracket behind the-channel 20 formsan-oil reservoir 28 and is provided with a filllng hole and plug 2%. A wick 39 extends through a hole in the bottom of the channel .20 to feed oil to the contacting surfaces of theliners 2 and slide 22.

The piston 25 is operate'dby fluid under pressure supplied irom anyaconvenient source through a pipe 3| under the'control of-valves'32'and33. When fluid under pressure "is admitted to the cylinder 95 by operati'n'g the valves, the piston is forced downwardly, compressing the spring 26 and actuating the slide .22 on a downward stroke. The valves'33 permitindependent operation of the slides of the two press units. If it is desired to operate them both simultaneously, the

valves 33 are left open and the control is-effected by operatin valve'32.

A relatively fixed bottom die '34 in the form of an elongated 'bar rests on the table H). A V-shaped trough :35 lformed in the upper face of the bar extends the full length thereof. The bottom of the die hasachannel 3B accommodating a resistance heatin :element "31 secured thereto by any convenient means (not shown). Thermal conducting pins 38 extend upwardly through the die from the channel '38 into the neighborhood of the :troughtii. When the element 3'5 is energized by connecting it to a suitable source of electric current, the heat generated therein flows upwardly through the pins 38 toward the top surface of the .die -34. The pins 33 are spaced longitudinally'of the-die, being arranged in two rows, 'one on each side of the trough 35.

The trough 35 in'the'die 34 is adapted-to receive one of the straight sides of an armature coil 39 when the coil is so'disposed thatit lies in a plane making approximately '45 degrees with the horizontal. .An upper :die '40 in the form of an angle the die it is disposed thereonyoper'ation :of one Similar shaping operations may be performed after the insulating tape has been wrapped on the coil.

Armature coils vary considerably in the ratio of the thickness of the section thereof to the depth. For various types of coils, therefore, it is desirable to move the die 34 laterally on the table. For this purpose, I provide thrust blocks 45 secured to the table it in line with the two press units. Adjusting screws 41 threaded through tapped holes in the blocks 46 engage thrust bearings 48 seated in suitable counterbores in the front side of the bar or die 34. Guide pins 49 extending from the rear face thereof pass through holes in guide blocks Eil secured to the table ill. Compression springs 5| between the blocks 59 and the die 34 constantly urge the latter toward the front side of the table. When it is desired to adjust the die 34 laterally under the slides 22 of the press units, it is only necesary to turn the screws 4'! in the proper direction.

It will be noted that die 34 extends under the slides of both the press units. This permits the shaping of the sides of coils in a wide range of sizes. For large coils, both slides may be employed to actuate the upper die, the upper and lower die under the respective slides and press heads being in lengthwise registry. A plurality of upper dies are provided to fit the various coil sizes and sectional shapes to be processed. Where relatively small coils, such as those shown in Figure 1, are being treated, it is convenient to shape one side of the coil in one unit and the other side in the other unit, the coil being passed from one operator to another after the first shaping.

The heat supplied to the bottom die by the element 3! is transmitted to the coil sides. If the coils are formed from wire having insulation composed partly of organic materials, they will be somewhat softened by the heat, thereby facilitating the shaping operation and causing the several turns to adhere to each other when compressed, thus converting the coil side from a relatively irregular bundle of loose Wires into a fairly dense and solid mass of precise shape and dimensions. As a result, the coils may readily be applied to the armature for which they are intended, after the application of the usual Wrapping of insulating tape and varnish or the like.

The advantages of the invention udll be obvious from the foregoing description and explanation. In the first place, the utilization of power means for actuating the upper die makes it possible to apply a heavy shaping pressure. In the second place, the operation may be quickly performed even by a relatively unskilled laborer after a limited period of instruction. The apparatus is simple in structure and operation and is thus rela tively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain. The shaping operation is rendered much more effective by the heating of the lower die. The apparatus is adapted, as previously explained, to the processing of coils varying widely in size. The

lateral adjustability of the lower die permits the vertex of the trough therein to be properly positioned relatively to the vertex of the slot 44 in the head of the slide so that the coil side is given the proper shape.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment and practice of the invention, it will be understood that changes in the apparatus and procedure disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for shaping armature coils or the like, said machine having a press head, a manually positioned upper die adapted to be pressed by said press head, a. lower die adapted to cooperate with said upper die, said lower die forming with said upper die the exact configuretion in which one side of an armature coil is to be press formed therebetween, the improvement comprising, means for adjusting said lower die in any of a number of different positions transversely of the vertical plane from side to side through the center of said press head, whereby armature coils of varying cross sections can be press formed.

2. In a machine for shaping armature coils or the like, said machine having a press head, a manually positioned upper die adapted to be pressed by said press head, a lower die adapted to cooperate with said upper die, said lower die forming with said upper die the exact configuration in which one side of an armature coil is to be press formed therebetween, the improvement comprising, in combination, means for adjusting said lower die in any of a number of different positions transversely of the vertical plane from side to side through the center of said press head, and heating means for said lower die, whereby armature coils of varying cross sections can be more easily press formed while being so heated.

3. In a machine for shaping armature coils or the like, said machine having a press head, a manually positioned upper die adapted to be pressed by said press head, a lower die adapted to cooperate with said upper die, said lower die forming with said upper die the exact configuration in which one side of an armature coil is to be pressed therebetween, the improvement comprising, thrust members for adjusting said lower die in any of a number of different positions transversely of the vertical plane extending from side to side through the center of said press head and resilient means for maintaining said lower die against said thrust members, whereby armature coils of varying cross sections can be press formed.

4. In a machine for press formin armature coils or the like, in combination, a press head adapted to reciprocate on a vertical axis, said press head having an inverted-V recess in the bottom extending from side to side thereof, an upper die adapted to be manually positioned on one side Of a coil to be press formed, said upper die having an upper surface corresponding to said recess in said press head and adapted to cooperate therewith, said upper die further having a lower surface conforming to the shape of and substantially cover at least two of the surfaces of the side of said coil which is to be press formed, and a lower die, said lower die having a V-shaped recess extending from side to side thereof conforming to the shape of two lower surfaces of the side of said coil which is to be press formed, said lower die further being adjustable transversely of the vertical plane bisecting said recess in said press head from side to side thereof, whereby when one side of a coil to be press formed is placed in said lower die and said upper die is positioned thereon, said press head may be actuated to press said dies together a predetermined amount to press form said side of said coil and for each adjustment of said lower die a coil of different cross sectional dimension with a corresponding upper die can be press formed.

5. In a machine for press forming armature coils or the like, in combination, a press head adapted to reciprocate on a vertical axis, said press head having an inverted-V recess in the bottom extending from side to side thereof, an upper die adapted to be manually positioned along one side of a coil of substantially rectangular cross section to be press formed, said upper die having an upper surface corresponding to said recess in said press head and adapted to cooperate therewith, said upper die further having a lower surface substantially in an inverted-v shape conforming in angle and length substantially to the two upper sides of said coil when resting on a lower die, a lower die, said lower die having a V-shaped recess extending from side to side thereof conforming to the angle between the two lower sides of said coil to be press formed when resting in said lower die, thrust means for adjusting said lower die transversely of the vertical plane bisecting said recess in said press head from side to side thereof, and holding and guiding means for maintaining said lower die in adjusted position against said thrust means, whereby when one side of a substantially rectangular coil to be press formed is placed in said lower die and said upper die is positioned thereon, the actuation of said press head presses said dies together a predetermined amount to press form the four sides of said side of said coil, irrespective of whether or not the lowermost and uppermost horizontal edges of said side of said coil are in a vertical plane.

6. In a machine assembly of at least two machines for shaping armature coils or the like, each said machine having a press head adapted to cooperate with a manually positioned upper die, a lower die adapted to cooperate with said upper die, a lower die forming with said upper die the exact configuration in which one side of an armature coil is to be pressed therebetween, the improvement comprising, positioning at least two of the said machines side by side with the press heads, upper dies and lower dies in lengthwise registry, and interconnected means for energizing said press heads at the same time, whereby an armature coil having one side of greater length than can conveniently be handled by one machine can be press formed by at least two of said machines positioned side by side as aforesaid.

BRUCE W. MARKEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 656,966 Gregory -1 Aug. 28, 1900 733,234 Lundskog July 7, 1903 1,151,625 Sonneborn Aug. 31, 1915 1,173,471 Wilkinson Feb. 29, 1916 1,217,226 Schussler Feb. 27, 1917 1,284,706 Kempton Nov. 12, 1918 1,349,136 Lillard Aug. 10, 1920 1,515,381 Boyer et al Nov. 11, 1924 1,600,824 Horman Sept. 21, 1926 1,651,505 Berg Dec. 6, 1927 1,652,396 Dallas Dec. 13, 1927 1,727,698 Clouse Sept. 10, 1929 1,818,332 Johnson Aug. 11, 1931 2,122,669 Wickwise July 5, 1938 2,181,043 Boeddinghaus Nov. 21, 1939 2,253,000 Francis, Jr Aug. 19, 1941 2,261,576 Wood Nov. 4, 1941 2,303,059 Misfeldt Nov. 24, 1942 2,350,998 Beach July 13, 1944 2,372,516 Rechton Mar. 27, 1945 

